A mother of two has been awarded €150,000 in violent attack compensation at the High Court after she was assaulted by the father of her two children, her former partner.
Jonathan McSherry (36), with a previous address of Cedarbrook Walk, Cherry Orchard, Dublin, went to prison to three and a half years for the assault on Jessica Bowes. He was allowed to go free after serving 22 months of the sentence. Mr McSherry confirmed that he broke almost every bone in Ms Bowes face and kicked her many times during the attack that happened on December 2015.
Mr McSherry, a former soldier, apologised to Ms Bowes and her civil action was now being heard by the High Court for a final assessment of compensation damages. Mr McSherry assaulted Ms Bowes after she arrived at her Clondalkin house in a taxi following a Christmas night out on December 20, 2015, to find him waiting there for her. Closed circuit camera footage of the attack displayed McSherry dragging Ms Bowes from the taxi, punching, kicking and dragging her. She was knocked out twice during the attack which lasted over one minute and a half before she managed to escape into a closeby house.
After the award was announced Ms Bowes made a statement in which she said that she hopes the ruling and compensation award will lead to more and more victims of domestic violence to initiate legal actions.
She stated: “I hope this will act as a deterrent, that people will realise there are possible large financial consequences as well as the threat of prison for this sort of violence. I’ve already had people write to me about it. One woman sent me a letter and a holy medal on Tuesday thanking me for my courage and asking me to pray for her so that she could find courage to tell the truth too. “She went to the bother of writing the letter, getting a stamp and posting it”.
“I was very upset for her and I will pray for her. She signed the letter ‘an old lady’, and it shows this can happen to anyone from any background. I just hope now that with International Women’s Day coming tomorrow, women everywhere will find the courage to speak out” Ms Bowes went on to say.
Finally she commented: “I hope women young and old will that find strength. It’s important for women to realise help is there for them – from places like Women’s Aid – [and] that legal advice and professional help is available.”
Ms Justice Bronagh O’Hanlon told the High Court said that she felt that Ms Bowes’ account was authentic. The went on to say that this was an extremely serious case that led to the woman experiencing difficulties which were ongoing and permanent.
The judge said that it was also noted that Mr McSherry’s admissions and apology for the violent assault did not come immediately. It was also noted that it was not the function of the civil court to punish the defendant but rather to assess the proposed amount of compensation. However, the judge also took into account the measures that McSherry had taken to rehabilitate himself, but did not reduce the compensation damages that Ms Bowes was to be awarded. The Judge awarded €150,000 appropriate given the circumstances to Ms Bowes.